Osei Tutu, (born c. 1660—died 1712 or 1717) founder and first ruler of the Asante (Ashanti) empire (in present-day Ghana) who as chief of the small state of Kumasi came to realize (c. 1680–90) that a fusion of the small separate Asante kingdoms was necessary to withstand their powerful Denkyera neighbours to the south.

Osei Tutu had been a hostage in the Denkyera court but had escaped eastward to the powerful state of Akwamu, where he was exposed to new ideas of political and military organization. When he returned to Kumasi, some Akwamu accompanied him. One was a priest, Okomfo Anokye, who is usually given credit for introducing the legendary Golden Stool, which, according to Asante tradition, was brought down from heaven by the priest and, as the repository of the spirit of the nation, became the symbol of the mystical bond between all Asante. With a spiritual as well as practical basis for unity, the other Asante kingdoms merged with Kumasi, and Osei Tutu led their combined forces in a successful war against the Denkyera about 1698/99–1701.

More wars followed, both to consolidate and to extend Asante conquests. During Osei Tutu’s reign as Asantehene (king of Asante), the area of Asante approximately tripled, bringing Asante into contact with the coast and the important slave and gun trade and beginning its turbulent 200-year existence as a powerful and warlike nation.

There is uncertainty regarding the year of Osei Tutu’s death. He is believed to have died in either 1712 or 1717, although 1717 is thought to be more likely.

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In their struggle against the suzerain state of Denkyera and lesser neighbouring states, the Asante people made little headway until the accession, probably in the 1670s, of Osei Tutu. After a series of campaigns that crushed all opposition, he was installed as Asantehene, or king of the new Asante state, whose capital was named Kumasi. His authority was symbolized by the Golden Stool, on which...

city, south-central Ghana. Carved out of a dense forest belt among hills rising to 1,000 feet (300 metres), Kumasi has a humid, wet climate. Osei Tutu, a 17th-century Asante king, chose the site for his capital and conducted land negotiations under a kum tree, whence came the town’s name. Located on north-south trade routes, Kumasi became a major commercial...

...conflict with the Asante, against whom it waged a series of ultimately unsuccessful wars between 1699 and 1701. After Denkyera’s final defeat, many chiefs recognized the authority of the Asante king Osei Tutu—by whom they were incorporated into the Kumasi division of his kingdom—while others, moving south of Denkyera’s ancient capital Abankeseso, retained their national identity but...